Trolley.



Patentediuly lo, 1900. W. H. RUSSELL.

TRULLEY.

(Application led Nov. 23, 1899.)

2 sheets-Sheet l.

(No Model.)

m M f Patented July 1.o, |900.

W. H. RUSSELL. TROLLEY.

(Applxcation led Nov. S3. 1899.)

NITE-D STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. RUSSELL, OF VVATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,316, dated July 10, 1900. Application filed November 23, 1899. Serial No. 738,022. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. RUSSELL, of Watertown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable those skilled inthe art to which it appertains or with which it is most nearly connected to make and use the same.

This invention relates to trolleys for electric railways; and the principal object is to increase the wearing quality of a trolleywheel without detracting from its conductivity. Trolley-wheels are usually made of brass and are short-lived accordingly. Better wear-resisting metal has not been adopted,

because inferior in conductivity. I aim to provide a trolley wheel having increased wear-resisting quality over the brass wheel and also increased conductivity, the improved construction of the wheel aifording tread-surfaces of the most durable metal and also providing for contact of the trolley-wire with metal of the highest conductivity for carrying the current into the wheel.

A further object is to make the wheel of a practical sectional construction, at the same time providing` space within for a charge of lubricant, while uniting the sections so as to insure the requisite strength, at the same time preserving the current-takin g properties of the wheel. Y

A further object is to provide improved means for lubricating the pivot of a curvetaking trolley of the type shown in my former patent, No. 607,194, dated July 12, 1898.

With the above-stated objects in View the invention consists in certain novel'features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are recited in the appended claims anda preferred form of embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter specifically described.

Of said drawings, Figure 1 represents a trolley embodying the invention, a portion of the same appearing in plan view and a portion in central longitudinal section. Fig. 2 represents the same,partially in side elevation and partially in central section, at right angles to the line of section in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents in side elevation a continuation of the trolley-pole, which is represented as broken oin Fig.

The reference-letter o', designates the trolley-pole, into the end of which is secured the stem of a casting b, having a forward-extending tongue b', transversely bored, as at c, and grooved in its upper side for the reception of graphite or other suitable lubricating material, (indicated at d.) A trolley-wheel-supporting frame or bracket is coupled t0 the tongue b', so as to be capable of lateral play, said `frame comprising a forward-extending bifurcated portion made up of arms e and e', a body portion oblong in cross-section and embracing the tongue b', the upper and. lower portions f and f' of said body portion being bored in line vwith the bore c of said tongue,

and an arm 'g springing from the lower rearV `partf of the body. A pivot extends throughY the registering bores of the tongue b and the upper and lower sides of the body portion of the trolley-wheel support, said pivot being in the form of a tube h, open at the upper end'` and closed at the lower part, as shown at h', said tube constituting a receptacle for liquid lubricant, with which it is to be charged' through its'open upper end, a suitable cork h2 being inserted in the same. The tubular pivot has a port hiin the rear side so located as to feed the oil to the pivot-bearing in the tongue and also between the top surface of the latter and the under surface of the top portion f of the trolley-wheel support. The pivot is prevented from turning independently of the latter by means of a @otter-pin i, passing through'its lower portion and engaging notches in the under portion f of the trolley-wheel-supporting frame, one of such notches being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

By the'above-described construction pro- `vision is made for using up all of the oil contained within the'tubularpivot. by reason of the fact that whenever thetrolley-wheel is thrown upwardly, as frequently happens, the oil will be thrown toward the top of the chamber in which it is contained `and against the rear side of the same, where the port hi" is 1ocated, and hence every time the trolley-wheel IOO is thrown upwardly oil will escape from the port h3 so long as any is contained within the tubular pivot.

The trolley-wheel-supportin g frame is pivotally connected with the pole, so as to adapt the Wheel for taking curves, as set forth in my prior patent, No. 607,194, and the trolleywheel-supporting frame is normally held in central position the same as in the former case, a flat spring j being secured to the trolley-pole and engaging between pins j on a collar jz, secured on the end of the arm g. Instead of fastening the trolley-rope to the pivotpin, as in the former construction, I provide a lug 7c on the under side of the trolley-wheelsupporti-ng frame, said lug being apertured, as at 7c', so as to receive the trolley-rope or a couplingdevice to which the-same may be secured. This obviates any possibility of the pivot-pin being pulled out by jerking on the trolley-rope.

The arms c and e' support a steel pin or stud m, which extends between them and constitutesa journal for the trolley-wheel, which isv preferably provided with a graphite bearing mV to run directly on the journal. rlhe wheel-is of sectional construction and cornprises a pair of brass sleeves n and n', screwed together by means of male and female threads o and o, the sleeve having the male threads being shouldered, as at n2, at the base of said threads. i The said sleeves are formed with confronting annular wings p and p in the nature of flanges, which form the, sides or webs of the wheel and also constitute side walls of lubricant containing chambershereinafter described. Theflanges, formi-ng between them the groove of the Wheel, are made of metal calculated to best withstand wear-such, for example, as chilled or case-hardened iron, cast-steel, or, it may be',` dropped forgings-it not being necessary inthe present construction that any preference begiven in the selection of material for thev flanges with regard to electrical conducting properties. Thesey hard-metal portions of the wheel are counterparts of each other and are of ring form, and each comprises a portion q, constituting a iange properof the wheel and extending practically in continuation of one of the sleeve wings or flanges p or p', and also comprising a portion q', forming partof the tread of the wheel or the base of the groove, and also a flange-like portion q2, extending inwardly on the inner side of said sleeve-wing. The hard-metal portions of the wheel do not come together at the middle, but aY narrow space is left all around, which space is filled by a copper disk r, of annular form, the outer edge of which completes the tread of the wheel orl the base of the groove and the inner edge of which fits closely around the reduced portion of the sleeve-n adjacent to the shoulder n2, the disk being clamped between saidshoulder and the inner end 'of the sleeve n. This copper disk and the hard-metal portions of the wheel are securely clamped together by means of a nu mber of copper rivets r', passing through the fiange-like inwardly-extending parts q2 of the hard-metal portions of the wheel and through the copper disk. The hard-metal portions of the wheel are chamfered on the outer sides, as shown at s, and the wings of the sleeves are correspondingly formed, so as to make joint with the hard-metal portions and preserve the usual exterior contour of the wheel. These parts are clamped together by means of screws t, preferably of brass, passing through the wings or webs p and p and through the inwardly-extending flanges q2 of the hardmetal portions of the wheel and also through 'the copper disk 7^.

Lubricant-containingchambersuareformed between the inne-r sides of the webs p and p', the fianges q2, the outer surface of the sleeves n and fn', and the opposite faces of the copper disk r, the said chambers'communicating through openings v in the copper disk andthere being a port w extending from the base of one of said lubricating-chambers tothe journal m by way of an annular groove 'w' and a port w in the graphite sleeve.

It will be seen that by carrying the hard metal into the tread portion of the wheel or base of the groove the life of the wheel will be very much prolonged, for these hard-metal parts of the tread will take the wear-incident to contact with the trolley-wire, the copper disk being so thin as compared with the diameter of the wire as not towear into a groove between the hard-metal portions of the tread. At the same time a good electrical contact is preserved between the trolley-wire and this copper disk, so that-the current-taking properties of the wheel are of a high order. The

`hard metal employed for its wear-resisting properties need not be relied upon at all for conducting purposes, for the current can pass through the copper rivets r to the brass hub portions of' the wheehbesides passing directly to the latter through the disk itself by reason i of the same being clamped between theV sleeves n and n'.

It will be seen that the construction above described is well calculated to thoroughly f ulil the objects primarily stated; but it is tol be understood that I do not limit myself' tol the metals herein specified as preferably em'- ployed for the different portions of the wheel.

Having thus explained the nature of the `invention and described a way of constructl wheel.

2. A. sectional trolley-wheel comprising IOO IIO

groove-forming flan ges of wear-resistin g metal extending into the tread portion of the wheel to run against the trolley-wire, a relativelythin disk of softer metal interposed in the tread for earryin g the current into the wheel,

interlocking hub-sections, and clamping devices securing the hub-sections, the disk, and the side flanges together.

3. A sectional trolley-wheel comprising in- Io terlockinghub-sectionshavingannularwings forming webs of the wheel, groove-forming lianges of wear-resistinglnetal extending between said wings and into the tread portion of the wheel to run against the trolley-wire,

a relatively-thin disk of softer metal for conducting the current into the wheel, said disk being interposed between the hardfmetal flanges and extending between the sleeves of the hub-sections, and clamping devices sezo curing the hub-sections, the wheel-flanges,

and the soft-metal disk together.

4. A sectional trolley-wheel comprising hubsections having sleeves with male and female screw-threads and also having annular wings forming webs of the wheel, a relatively-thin disk of soft metal clamped between the said sleeves, groove-forming iianges of wear-resisting metal extending between 1 the said wings and into the tread portion of 3o the wheel to run against the trolley-wire on opposite sides of the soft-metal disk, and clamping devices securing the hub-sections, side flanges, and disk together, substantially as described.

5. In a trolley, the combination with the pole end fitting and the wheel-support mounted thereon, of a hollow pivot connecting these parts and constituting a lubricant-container, the same having a port in the rear side near the upper end through which the lubricant 4o may escape to the bearing, substantially as described. l

' 6. In a trolley, the combination of a pole end fitting transversely bored, a wheel-supporting frame having portions extending above and below the bored portion of said tting and itself correspondingly bored, and a hollow lu bricant-containing pivot extending through the registering bores of the frame and the pole-fitting and having a port at the 5o upper rear portion for escape of the lubricant, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two eubscribngwitnesses, this 11th day of 55 November, A. D. 1899.

WILLIAM II. RUSSELL.

Vitnesses:

ARTHUR W. CRossLEY, F. P. DAvIs. 

